Lotulelei, 28, has spent the last five seasons with the Carolina Panthers after being taken with the 14th overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. In his five seasons with the Panthers, Lotulelei has racked up 88 tackles, 11.5 sacks, and has two forced fumbles in 75 career starts.

Arguably his best season came in 2016 when he registered 26 combined tackles, four sacks and a forced fumble in 16 games played. That was the last season he played under Sean McDermott, who was the Panthers' defensive coordinator at the time. The next season, Lotulelei took a step back in his game with just six solo tackles and 1.5 sacks under defensive coordinator Steve Wilks.

Lotulelei reunites with McDermott in Buffalo, after spending the first four years of his career with the current Bills head coach.

"The obvious connection here is Lotulelei and both Bills head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane were all together in Carolina for the first four years of his career. Beane was the Panthers’ Director of Football Operations when Lotulelei was drafted, and McDermott was the only defensive coordinator he played for until last year. At 28, Lotulelei is in the prime of his career, and the Bills desperately need help up front on defense, with or without Kyle Williams returning. But Lotulelei has become more of a space eater and never really been a play-maker at his position. He’s most valuable if he’s paired with athletic linebackers who can make plays behind him."

Sal also added this tweet on the signing of Lotulelei:

Im told one of the reasons Bills wanted Lotulelei is they felt they allowed opposing QBs to step up in middle of the pocket too much last year, avoiding sack from th edge. Star will help prevent that.